


Paw Prints

by TokiKurp



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Everyone is very different, Fantasy Exchange, Kyoutani is a shapeshifter, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, There's a cerberus, Yahaba is a Kitsune, Yes Iwa has a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 10:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12579428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TokiKurp/pseuds/TokiKurp
Summary: “No princess, I don’t have my mark or do think I’ll ever get it. I don’t believe in that whole soulmate mumble jumble.” Kyoutani said to the child in his lap.“Why? Daddy and Papa have their pretty marks.”“Well, I just don’t. Doesn’t make any sense to me to be honest. I mean, you go your whole life wondering what will trigger that mark and then you have to find them. I’d be lucky if I found someone since everyone likes to call me the hell hound.”





	Paw Prints

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween /╲/\\( •̀ ω •́ )/\╱\
> 
> My creature was a cerberus V●ᴥ●V V●ᴥ●V V●ᴥ●V

“Do you ever slow down?” Watching as a small child ran around him, while giggling her little head off, Kyotani could feel his head spinning. How did he get talked into babysitting this hyperactive child, which didn’t seem to have an off button. “Oi can you stop running around? You’re making my head spin.”

The child stopped and looked right at her uncle, before giggling again. “It’s not spinnin’! You not an owl, Uncle Mad Dog-Chan!” 

“I told you my name isn’t Mad Dog-Chan. I told you to call me Uncle Ken because you’re little four-year-old brain can’t handle Kentarou.” Kyotani told her while crossing his arms.

“But Uncle Mad Dog-Chan is more fun to say then Uncle Ken!” She pouted while putting her hands on her hips.

“Of course it is.” He rolled his eyes. Of course saying a nickname he’s had since forever would be more fun to say compared to his real name, according to a four-year-old. Of course! But what could Kyotani do? This was his little niece and he would do anything to protect her. Especially since she’s half of her parents, one being a witch and the other being a fellow shapeshifter.

Kyotani was a shapeshifter and his niece’s father was his best friend, Iwaizumi Hajime. His niece hadn’t inherited many features from Iwaizumi, but she had his dark brown eyes that Kyotani swore sometimes were actually black! Guess that was her witch side showing at times.

“Uncle Mad Dog-Chan? Do you have your pretty mark yet?” She asked while coming up to him and looking at his wrists, but only to be disappointed when she saw both his wrists were blank. The little girl pouted as Kyotani patted her head, before sitting down and setting her in his lap.

“No princess, I don’t have my mark or do think I’ll ever get it. I don’t believe in that whole soulmate mumble jumble.” He spoke as the child looked up and tilted her head to the side. 

“Why? Daddy and Papa have their pretty marks.” 

“Well, I just don’t. Doesn’t make any sense to me to be honest. I mean, you go your whole life wondering what will trigger that mark and then you have to find them. I’d be lucky if I found someone since everyone likes to call me the hell hound.” He chuckled.

“But your mark will come when you find them, Uncle Mad Dog-Chan! Daddy and Papa didn’t find each other for a super long time. And when you do, you will be happy like Daddy and Papa!” She smiled up at her uncle. 

“We’ll see Princess. But until that person comes along, I’ve got you to give me all the headaches in the world.” He smirked while poking her nose.

“And the only one!”

“Sorry, I’m late!” A voice called out as the two heard the door opening.

“DADDY!” The child exclaimed as she jumped down from Kyotani’s lap and rushed to Iwaizumi. The father opened his arms to hug his daughter while the shapeshifter stood up from the ground.

“Oh there’s my princess! Were you good for Uncle Ken?” Iwaizumi asked as she nodded. 

“She acted like a sassy brat, who won’t stop calling me Uncle Mad Dog-Chan.” Kyotani responded as Iwaizumi looked at the little girl in his arms.

“So,” The shapeshifter looked toward his friend. “The usual?”

“Yeah, the usual.” The blond rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t help, but chuckle.

“Thanks again for picking her up from school. I wasn’t expecting to get a new patient at the last minute and Tooru won’t be off for another hour or so.” Iwaizumi thanked while looking at his watch.

“You know I don’t mind watching this brat.”

“I’m not a brat! You the brat!”

“Keep telling yourself that kiddo.” Kyotani smirked as he patted Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “I”m off to the shelter now. Need to go tame my family.”

“Don’t get bitten like last time!” Iwaizumi called back as Kyotani waved them off.

“Uncle Mad Dog-Chan’s bite is harder than the doggies at the shelter, Daddy!” She exclaimed as Iwaizumi chuckled.

“I believe so princess, because I’ve seen it. So how about you tell me what happened at school today?”

* * *

“THE HELLHOUNDS HAVE GOTTEN LOOSE!” Turning his attention away from a new family of werewolves, Kyotani perked up and groaned. Why is it that the hellhounds were always escaping from their cages? Kyoutani never understood and probably never will in the future.

“Shit not again.” He cussed under his breath as a centaur rushed up to the shapeshifter.

“Oi Kyotani! The hellhounds-”

“I’ve got this.” The shapeshifter cut the centaur off as he shifted into a hellhound to rush to tame them. He was the only one how could calm the hounds down and get them back into their yard.

The hellhounds weren’t hard to find since they were the only big, black, scary-looking dogs with glowing red eyes. The hounds shifted around, as if they were looking for something or someone. Kyoutani shook his head as he returned back to his human self and crossed his arms, whistling to catch their attention.

“Taketora, Ryuunosuke, Yasushi. What have I said about escaping from your damn cages? You scare people when you come out without your-”

The hellhounds growled at the shapeshifter, who rolled his eyes.

“Rude.”

The hound nearest to him, Ryuunosuke, barked at him. Oh boy, they were aggressive today. The hounds began to make their way toward Kyoutani, watching him closely. Three against one, this wasn’t his first time dealing with them. But even as experienced as he was, he had to be careful (they weren’t called hellhounds for nothing).

“Alright, we can do this one of two ways. You three know the drill. You can either stay and sit and I can lead you back to your cage. Or we have to do it the hard way. Pick your battle, boys.” But he knew they would go the hard way.

He watched as the one farthest from him, Yasushi, got into a pounce position. Kyoutani smirked as he looked at the one in front of him, Taketora.

“You three don’t ever learn, do you?”

Yasushi pounced and Kyoutani jumped away, shifting into a hellhound and took a few steps back as the hounds ganged up against him. 

‘ _ Okay, this is one against three. Again. _ ’ Kyoutani thought as he eyed them all carefully. The three hounds didn’t move for awhile, perfect! Right on schedule! Kyoutani began to sway from side to side, letting them think he was going to make a break either from the left or the right. Yasushi and Ryuunosuke took the sides, leaving two potential spots opened.

‘ _ They never learn. _ ’

Next thing the hounds knew, Kyoutani jumped over them and barked at them, shouting something very insulting to them (actually it didn’t take much to get them angry). The hellhounds charged toward Kyoutani as he raced toward their cage. If Kyoutani would be in his human form and some idiot would nearby, they would see the smirk on his face as the hounds chased him.

Kyoutani saw their cage coming up, he quickly scanned to see if he could see any opening that the hounds created. The only opening he saw was the cage door, of course. It must have been a new person, they probably didn’t watch them carefully enough or didn’t lock the door correctly. Here we went  _ again _ .

The shapeshifter rushed into the cage, the hounds following him without even realizing where they were going. They stopped when they realized he wasn’t in site, where the hell was he? Unaware to them, Kyoutani had jumped onto the fence and watched as they went further into their cage. Waiting until they were far enough away from the exit, so that they wouldn’t run and escape again.

The hounds looked carefully around their cage, where did that other hound go? They all perked up when they heard the sound of their cage rattling. All of them spun around to see Kyoutani standing in front of the exit, signing for them to come after him. Yasushi barked at him before the three charged after him. Kyoutani turned around and slammed the door shut, quickly turning back into his human form and properly locking the door. The hounds barked their heads off while jumping up and down, trying to escape again!

“We go through this every single time and every single time you three fall for it.” Kyoutani scolded as he leaned against the fence. “When are you three going to learn?”

“We can always count on you, Kyoutani-san!” A voice came as the shapeshifter turned around to see the owner of the shelter coming up. “We can always trust you to get those hellhounds-”

“Tell the idiot, who didn’t watch these beasts to watch them or double check the locks. I’m not always going to be here when they get out.” Kyoutani cut off as he stared at Taketora, the hound barked at him and Kyoutani barked back.

“Uh yes of course. I’ll make sure of that.” The owner responded as the shapeshifter stuck his hand through the fence and patted Ryuunosuke’s head.

“Stop being a brat and go take a nap.”

“Kyoutani-san, we received a cerberus mother late last night, that we would like for you to look at and see if you get her comfortable.” The owner spoke up as Kyoutani turned around. 

“Her pups with her?” He asked as the owner shook his head.

“She hasn’t had them yet. But she’s a nervous one.” The owner spoke as he lead the shapeshifter toward the cerberus. Kyoutani looked at the hellhounds one more time, before following the owner. Eh, a nice change and they rarely get cerberus so he took this moment to check out the cerberus.

“She’s a beauty.” Kyoutani commented as they walked up to the cage where the mother was being held. The cerberus, currently asleep, laid on top of a blanket and Kyoutani could see her bump. “What are the head’s names?”

“Kiyoko, Hana and Yui.” The owner said as Kyoutani nodded. The shapeshifter didn’t said a word as he entered the cage, walking up to the sleeping Mother. He looked over her before laying a hand on one of the head’s noses.

“Hey there beautiful, how are you adjusting to your new home?” Kyoutani asked in a whisper to her. The heads opened one eye and the middle one leaned into Kyoutani’s hand. “I know, girl. It’ll take time, hang in there. Before you know it, you’ll have someone else to keep you company.”

The cerberus closed her eyes while nuzzling against Kyoutani’s head. He chuckled while petting her head. “Sweet girl. You just want to sleep, get as much as you can. That pup will be keeping you up at night.”

“You really know how to calm down a nervous mother, don’t you?” The owner chuckled as Kyoutani came back out while shrugging.

“Guess so. But she would much rather sleep than interact with us. Leave her be, she’s getting all the rest she needs before the pup arrives.” Kyoutani responded as he headed toward the exist. “I’m finished for the day. Tell the idiots not to bother the hellhounds.”

* * *

If Kyoutani could throw his alarm clock across the room to shut it off, he would. But if he did that, that meant he would be getting a new phone every single day. So he groaned when the alarm went off at seven that morning, sitting up and checking his notifications that he received throughout the night; not once noticing the new mark on his wrist. All day, it never caught his attention or did anyone bring it to his attention.

That was until he met up with Iwaizumi for lunch.

“Uncle Mad-Dog Chan!! You got your pretty mark!” His niece exclaimed when she noticed the mark. Kyoutani stopped eating and looked at her, raising an eyebrow in the process. What is she talking about?

“What are you talking about?” He asked while she pointed at her wrist. 

“You have your pretty mark! It’s paws!” She explained as Kyoutani looked at both of his wrists to see something on his right wrist: three dog prints. Iwaizumi looked over and chuckled, leaning against his chair.

“Well, well, well. Someone finally has gotten their soulmate mark.”

“Don’t be stupid. I must have gotten drunk last night and got a tattoo.” Kyoutani rolled his eyes, thinking back on what had happened after he left the shelter. Yeah, that had to be it! He must have met up with some friends from high school at a bar and they got so drunk they decided to get tattoos!

“No, that’s clearly a soulmate mark, Ken.” Iwaizumi responded as he took a sip of his water.

“It’s a tattoo.”

“Sure it is.” Iwaizumi wasn’t buying it and by looking at his niece, she wasn’t buying it either. 

“Okay yeah, I guess I have my mark now. But so what? How do I find them and how do I know that they actually want to be with me?” He asked while leaning back against his chair and crossing his arms.

“Do you remember when I first met Tooru?” Iwaizumi asked as he picked up his daughter and placed her in his lap, handing her a piece of bread.

“Yeah. Why?” The blond asked with a raised eyebrow. What did this have to do with anything?

“Remember what my first impression of him was?”

“Didn’t you say he pissed you off because how flirty he was?” Kyoutani asked.

Iwaizumi chuckled, but nodded. “That and how childish he got at times, his smug attitude and just how disgusting his personality was at first. I really thought it was a mistake that this guy is my soulmate. But then I got to know him, I saw a different side to him and how hardworking he truly is. When he has his mind set on something, he’s dedicated on finishing it and even if it isn’t turning out the way he wants, he’ll finish it.”

“And now, here we are. Ten years later, we’re married and have this little princess.” Iwaizumi finished while kissing the top of his daughter’s head. 

“What I mean is that things will be rocky in the beginning, but it will eventually smooth out as time goes on and you two get to know each other more.”

“But I need to find them first to even know if that’s true. How the hell do I find them?” Kyoutani asked as Iwaizumi chuckled, watching as their main course arrived.

“It’s funny how fate works sometimes.”

* * *

Kyoutani’s marked had appeared over three months ago and in those three months, he hadn’t found his soulmate yet. He knew it would be hard to find them, billions of people in the world and out of those billion one was his soulmate. Were they in Japan or were they somewhere else, Europe maybe? What did they do for a living or were they still in college? Kyoutani grumbled, he didn’t expect to care this much about his soulmate. Up until he got his mark, he had been the type of person that didn’t care about his mark or finding a soulmate. Let alone believing this was true.

But now his mind wandered off into lala land, wondering what they were like. 

It was early morning and he had just arrived to the park for a morning jog before work. This was the only time of day he could actually think without the thought of his soulmate coming up. He stretched while scanning the park, not many people were there. Just a few other joggers and a couple walking their dog.

‘ _ Here’s to a good run. _ ’ He thought as he began his jog.

It was a clear morning and the air was slightly chilly, it was supposed to be warm this afternoon, which was why he was doing his jog now instead of later. It was all going good, he was keeping up with his pace and with his breathing. He passed another jogger and the moment that happened, his mark began to burn. It was not enough for him to stop his jog, but enough to notice it. He narrowed his eyes and looked at his wrist. He looked behind him, but didn’t see the jogger anymore.

‘ _ Don’t tell me I just passed them. _ ’ He would try and go after them, but he hadn’t gotten a chance to look at the jogger that passed him.

Damnit!

‘ _ It’s funny how fate works sometimes. _ ’ Iwaizumi’s words echoed in his head at that moment. Kyoutani grumbled as he decided to end his jog early. He started heading back home, feeling a tad bit down that he missed out of meeting his soulmate. 

Well now he knows one thing about them, they also jogged. 

The pain in his wrist went away, but Kyoutani remembers how it felt like. It was dull, kind of like running into a wall. It hurt a little, but the pain wasn’t terrible. It had been over two months since he had last felt the pain, two more months he had wondered when he would run into his soulmate again. He had gone out jogging at different times to try and find them again, but the pain never returned with each jogger he passed. After a month of trying that he, he questioned if the pain thing was actually because he ran into the guy and pain had to do nothing with the mark.

He sighed when he thought about that, would he ever find them? To get his mind off of this, he headed to the shelter to check on how things were going. Maybe even take the hellhounds out for a run if they weren’t being brats.

“You’re offering classes now?”

“Yes! Obedience classes for owners and their pets.” The owner responded. That didn’t sound like a bad idea. 

“Does that include the three brat hounds?” Kyoutani asked as the owner shook his head.

“Sadly no.”

“They could use a lesson or two...or seven.”

“How about you sit in on the first lesson. There’s one person who has a cerberus!” The owner exclaimed as Kyoutani stopped walking. Wait, why did he stop walking? 

“Uh yeah I guess I can.” Kyoutani answered while heading into the direction of the class. His legs were moving on their own. What the hell was going on?

“Wonderful! Oh and you know where the room is!” The owner cheered as he followed. They entered the room, well it was actually outside, and there was a group of owners and their pets. Kyoutani spotted the cerberus right away because well, it was a bit hard not to notice the three headed dog that towered over all the other pets. Without realizing it, Kyoutani started walking toward the dog.

The cerberus was asleep, but perked up when they heard Kyoutani walking over. The cerberus sat up and watched as the shiftshaper walk over to them.

“What’s wrong, boys?” Kyoutani heard what he assumed is the owner. The head farthest away turned away from him and to his owner, nudging him to come out. “Alright, alright.”

Appearing from behind the three headed dog was a...kitsune? What was a fox doing with a cerberus? The kitsune noticed Kyoutani and tilted his head to the side.

“Can I help you?”

“Uh I just noticed your cerberus and just wanted to see them.” ‘ _ Why is my heart racing all of a sudden? _ ’ Kyoutani wondered as the fox smiled and patted the middle one’s nose.

“Yeah, they’re a show stopper. People are always stopping me to ask questions about them and what their names are. How different are their personalities and all that jazz.”

“The shelter recently got a cerberus mother not too long ago.” Kyoutani added.

“I saw. She’s beautiful and caught their attention.” He giggled. “I hope someone will take care of her and her future pup.”

“Yeah.” Kyoutani agreed, looking away to try and hide the blush that was visible on his face. Why does this guy have to be so handsome? “Uh what are their names?”

“The one near you is Akira, the middle is Yuutarou and this one is Shinji.” Kyoutani nodded as he watched the fox reached to rub Yuutarou’s noise. 

His eyes widened when he saw the fox’s left wrist. A mark of three paw prints that looked identical to Kyoutani’s. This was his soulmate, now the three paw prints made sense. One print representing each head of the cerberus. Now that he thought about it, his mark appeared right after the mother cerberus came into the shelter.

“Um is everything alright?” The fox asked after noticing the shocked expression on Kyoutani’s face.

“Mark.” Kyoutani managed to get out. The fox looked at his mark and then to the shapeshifter.

“Yeah um...it’s my soulmate mark. I’ve been-”

“I have the same one.” Kyoutani blurted out as he held out his wrist, showing his mark. The fox looked at him before back at his mark and then back at Kyoutani.

“You’re my...soulmate?” He asked as the blond nodded. Kyoutani couldn’t find the words to express how he was feeling. Five months after his mark had appeared, his soulmate was right in front of him. 

“Well uh,” The fox started before holding his hand out to him. “Guess we should introduce ourselves. I’m Yahaba Shigeru.”

“Kyoutani Kentarou.” He extended his hand out and grasped Yahaba, noticing how soft his hands were. “Your hands are soft.”

“Huh? Oh um thank you.” Yahaba thanked with a small blush crossing his cheeks. The cerberus noticed and looked at Kyoutani, more specifically Yuutarou and Shinji while Akira just blinked. The two heads growled at the blond.

“Yuutarou! Shinji! Don’t you dare-” But Yahaba was cut off when Kyoutani growled back. “...Growl at him.”

“I’m a shapeshifter and I tend to shift into a hellhound.” The blond answered.

“Oh, I see.” Well Yahaba wasn’t expecting that.

“Alright so let’s get started with today’s class!” The teacher called out while clapping her hands and going up to the front of the class.

“Talk after the class?” Kyoutani asked as Yahaba nodded.

“Yes, I would like that.”

“Though can you answer this quick question?”

“Sure.”

“Why does a fox-”

“Kitsune.” He corrected.

“R-Right. Um what does a kitsune like you have a three headed dog like this guy?” Kyoutani asked. The three headed dog perked up and growled at him, but Yahaba on the other hand started to laugh. 

Wow, what a cute laugh he had.

“You know, you’re the first person to ever ask me that.” Yahaba responded as he calmed down. “And why I have a cerberus? Well you could say they found me first.”

“Gotcha. Um do you want to go out to the park afterwards? Get to know each other more?” Kyoutani suggested.

“I like that idea. See you after class.” Kyoutani smiled as he looked up at his cerberus. “Alright boys, sit!” 

As Kyoutani walked away, he could feel his mark burn. But not in a painful or bad way, but a pleasant way. 

**Author's Note:**

> I took part of the Haikyuu!! Fantasy Exchange this year and SO HAPPY I took part. This was a lot of fun and especially getting assigned a creature that had to be part of the piece. And let me tell you, the moment I saw what creature I got, I knew who I wanted to write (because I wasn’t given a certain ships) and which of the prompts I want to write.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, please don't forget to leave a kudos if you enjoyed. And to make my day even better, how about you leave a comment?
> 
> Thank you again and I will see you soon!
> 
> Come chat with me on Twitter or Tumblr at TokiKurp ♡


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